Philadelphia Inquirer launches luxury glossy

The Philadelphia Inquirer has launched a new luxury magazine called I.

The glossy insert, slated for distribution six times a year, made its debut Nov. 20. Its 115,000 inaugural copies were sent with the Inquirer to home delivery customers and specially-chosen newsstands in affluent ZIP codes in and around the paper's namesake city. Most of the copies were distributed in the Philadelphia suburbs.

I is intended as a draw to wealthy readers and luxury advertisers, mimicking similar attempts by the Wall Street Journal, which launched WSJ. earlier this year, and the New York Times. The Times' T magazines have traditionally won the paper an impressive number of luxury ad pages, though the current economic situation has slowed their growth. WSJ.'s September and December issues have attracted 28 new advertisers, reported Michael Rooney, the Journal's chief revenue officer.

The Philadelphia Inquirer had an average weekday paid circ of 334,150 for the six months ended March 30 and a print readership of nearly 2 million. A 2007 Scarborough Research release posted by Inquirer parent company Philadelphia Media Holdings LLC reported that the average household income for Inquirer readers was $64,079 annually and that median age for daily Inquirer readers was 55. Representatives of the Inquirer did not return requests for comment as of press time.

Editorial in I will cover the usual luxury lifestyle topics: fashion, home décor, food, entertainment and social events. The first issue was 56 pages.